All is Full of Love

All is Full of Love: The Films of Stanley Kubrick features lectures, readings, and open discussions. The course runs from March 28 to April 25, 2024 — a five-week deep dive into the work of one of the 20th century’s most enigmatic film artists.

Few filmmakers have elicited as much speculation, theorizing, and conjecture from moviegoers and critics as Stanley Kubrick. Was he a Promethean creator, or a tone-deaf impostor? A deep-state whistleblower, or a master of psyops? A brilliant pessimist, or a blind optimist? It seems that forming an opinion on Kubrick is mandatory for anyone who thinks seriously about cinema, with each opinion as outlandish as the worlds Kubrick conjures in his films.

In this course, comprising five weekly lectures and as many group discussions, J.F. Martel, author of Reclaiming Art and co-host of the Weird Studies podcast, will attempt to extract from Stanley Kubrick’s work a vision that speaks to our modern predicament. The goal isn’t to uncover some secret intent or agenda on the filmmaker’s part, but to locate and build on the work’s inner logic. As Kubrick himself once said, “I have found it always the best policy to allow the film to speak for itself.”

Kubrick, like all of us, faced the radical mystery of being. Naturally, his films may be interpreted as a response to the mystery. What does A Clockwork Orange reveal about the human will? The Shining about death and the mind? Eyes Wide Shut about love and sex? What happens when we approach these artworks as the hominids do the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey — that is, not as historical artifacts to be subsumed in a specific time, place, or personality, but atemporal objects that challenge us to think beyond our epistemic condition? True to the spirit of Reclaiming Art and Weird Studies, this course will treat Kubrick’s films as enigmas to ponder under the auspices of strangeness and wonder.

Time Frame

Five lectures, each followed by a group discussion three days later, are scheduled:

• Lectures will take place on Thursday evenings at 8 PM Eastern Time, starting March 28, 2024.

• Group discussions will occur on Sundays at 3 PM Eastern Time, beginning March 31, 2024.

Preparations

Since the lectures will range freely over Kubrick’s oeuvre, students should have some familiarity with his work at the start of the course.

While not every film needs to be watched beforehand, you are encouraged to view or review as many of the following films as possible:

• Fear and Desire (1952)

• Killer’s Kiss (1955)

• The Killing (1956)

• Paths of Glory (1957)

• Spartacus (1960)

• Lolita (1962)

• Dr. Strangelove (1964)

• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

• A Clockwork Orange (1971)

• Barry Lyndon (1975)

• The Shining (1980)

• Full Metal Jacket (1987)

• Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

• AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Please note that all lectures and discussion groups will be recorded and made available to students on the Nura Learning site throughout the duration of the course.

The site also includes a course-specific discussion forum and a section for course materials.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students will:

·         Delve into the aesthetic, metaphysical, and ethical dimensions of Kubrick’s films, fostering the development of personal and unique insights.

·         Deepen their understanding of the nature of art by focusing on the oeuvre of a single, influential artist.

·         Access a curated selection of readings in philosophy, art criticism, and cultural history, along with poems, novel excerpts, and literary essays.

·         Have opportunities to share and exchange ideas with the instructor and fellow students.

·         Join a vibrant online community concerned with the direction of our world and seeking new, transformative ways of seeing.

Registration: $175

Alumni and Patreon members receive a $25 discount (select “Returning Student” button below)

Student rates:
Send us a note to receive a pay-what-you-can registration link: info (at) nuralearning (dot) com

Thank you, and see you in class!

Returning students and alumni, please use this link to receive your $25 discount:

New students, please register here: